elp topic sentence supporting deatils thesis statement

8/8/2019 ELP Topic Sentence Supporting Deatils Thesis Statement

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A paragraph is a group of

related sentences about a

single topic:

TOPIC SENTENCE: the subject of

the whole paragraph MAIN IDEA: the point that the whole

paragraph makes

DETAILS: the sentences that explain

the main idea

TRANSITIONS: words and phrases to

connect the ideas1From: Liew Jia Yun



2

Recognizing the

Topic Sentencein a Paragraph

From: Liew Jia Yun



3

Paragraph =Paragraph =

One Topic Sentence +One Topic Sentence +

Supporting SentencesSupporting Sentences

(+ A Summary or Conclusion)(+ A Summary or Conclusion)

From: Liew Jia Yun



4

Topic Sentence

A topic sentence must be a complet e

sentence, not a fragment.

A topic sentence is usually a clear and direct statement, not a question.

The subject of the topic sentence isusually the subject idea of the

paragraph.

From: Liew Jia Yun



5

Topic Sentence

The verb and complement (predicate)of the topic sentence usually showthe focus of the paragraph.

A subordinate word group issometimes used in the topicsentence to define the focus still

further.

From: Liew Jia Yun



6

Topic Sentence

The topic sentence is usually the firstsentence of the paragraph. It givesthe reader an idea of what theparagraph is going to be about.

However, the topic sentence may notalways be so clearly stated, and itcan come in the middle or end of aparagraph, not just its beginning.

Regardless, all topic sentences aresupported by sentences that givedetails to develop the MAIN IDEA.

From: Liew Jia Yun



7

Topic SentenceTopic Sentence

= Subject= Subject++

FocusFocusFrom: Liew Jia Yun



8

Examples

The most unfair program

in Taiwan today is welfare

for the aborigines.

It is better to take wrong

action against injustice

than to take no action.From: Liew Jia Yun



Supporting Details

What are supporting details?

They come after the topic

sentence, making up the body of

a paragraph.

What do they do?

They give details to develop and

support the main idea of the

paragraph.9From: Liew Jia Yun



Recognizing Supporting

Details

Level 3

leti entences

add specific details

Level 2

larif ing entences

support ain point

Level

upporting etailnames t e topic

Level

upporting etail

Level

upporting etail

I I

0Fr om: Liew Jia Yun



Types of Supporting

Details Examples, Illustrations

Facts and Statistics

Reasons

Incident

Descriptive Details

Steps or Procedures

Comparison or Contrast

11From: Liew Jia Yun



ExampleThere are three reasons why Canada is

one of the best countries in the world. First,Canada has an excellent health care

system. All Canadians have access to

medical services at a reasonable price.

Second, Canada has a high standard of education. Students are taught by well-

trained teachers and are encouraged to

continue studying at university. Finally,

Canada's cities are clean and efficientlymanaged. Canadian cities have many

parks and lots of space for people to

live. As a result, Canada is a desirable

place to live. 12From: Liew Jia Yun



Cohesive Devices:

Linking Adverbials

We use linking adverbials to

explicitly state relationships

between sentences, paragraphs,and ideas. The result is increased

cohesion of text.




Linking adverbials can show 6

different categories of relationships:

1.Enumeration and addition

2.Summation

3.Apposition

4.Result / Inference5.Contrast

6.Transition




A few enumerative linking adverbials

are :

ordinal numbers

first, second, third, etc.

adverbs

finally, lastly

phrases

for one thing, to begin with, next15From: Liew Jia Yun



Addi t iv e Linking Adv erbials

also

similarly

by the same token

further(more)

likewise

moreover




Su mmat iv e Linking Adv erbials

in sum

in conclusion

to conclude

all in all

overall

to summarize




A pposi t iv e Linking Adv erbials

which is to say

in other words

that is

for example

for instance introduce an example that is

specifically the equivalent of the first

piece of information.

18

show that the following

piece of information is a

restatement of the previous

information by expressing it

in a slightly differentmanner to make it more

explicit.

From: Liew Jia Yun



R esu lt/I nf erence Linking

Adv erbials

consequently

thus

as a result

hence

so

therefore




C ontr ast/ C oncessi on Linking

Adv erbials

on the other hand

in contrast

alternatively

conversely

by comparison

instead




T r ansi t i on Linking Adv erbials

now

meanwhile

by the by

incidentally

by the way




Thesis Statements

A thesis statement is a complete sentence thatcontains one main idea. This idea controls thecontent of the entire essay. A thesis statement thatcontains subpoints also helps a reader know how theessay will be organized.

What¶s a thesis

statement ????




Key FeaturesKey FeaturesThesis Statement

states the main idea of the essay in a completesentence, not in a question.

states an opinion or attitude on a topic. It doesn¶t juststate the topic, itself.

is usually at the end of an introduction.

often lists subtopics.

does not directly announce your main topic.




Psychologists have argued for decades about how aperson¶s character is formed. Numerous psychologistsbelieve that one¶s birth order (i.e. place in the familyas the youngest, oldest, or middle child) has thegreatest influence. I believe birth order can have a

significant impact in the formation of a child¶scharacter based on my own experience growing up ina family of four children. Birth order can stronglyaffect one¶s relationship with parents, relationshipswith others, and how one views responsibility as anadult.

ExampleExample

The thesis statement

contains the main idea that

controls the content of the

essay.

Subpoints in the thesis or

nearby help the reader

know how the essay will be

organized




Example

For most of my life I have lived with bad health,smelly clothes, and a chronic cough. My children andhusband begged me to stop the habit that causedthese conditions, but I couldn¶t. The habit of smokinghad wrapped its addicting arms around me and was

slowly strangling me until one day I realized I had tostop. This realization came after three terrifyingevents occurred in my family.

The thesis statement comes at the end of theintroductory paragraph. This sentence tells the reader

that he/she can expect to read about the events that

caused the author to stop smoking in the rest of the

essay.




Thank you!


elp topic sentence supporting deatils thesis statement

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